Although no one had witnessed Liu Tiantian's fate firsthand, everyone could guess the outcome. A young woman falling into the clutches of a pack of wolves—what kind of ending could she possibly have?
Even if Chen Zhenghao and his gang spared her life, without any resources to survive, she was only left to await death. However, instead of feeling sorrow, the others heaved a collective sigh of relief.
At least Liu Tiantian could keep Chen Zhenghao and his group fed for a while.
But even so, this incident served as a wake-up call to the other residents. If things continued like this, none of them would survive for long.
That afternoon, Zhang Yi suddenly found himself added to yet another group chat.
He couldn't help but chuckle. In this increasingly unstable environment, people's suspicion was growing, and small factions were forming. It was as if banding together would somehow make them stronger.
Zhang Yi glanced at the members of the group and saw that there were only six or seven people. Zhou Peng, Fang Yuqing, Lin Caining, and a few other neighbors were among them.
Frowning slightly, Zhang Yi wondered what they wanted from him.
Soon enough, someone reached out to him directly.
Fang Yuqing: "@Zhang Yi, Zhang Yi, it's getting too dangerous outside. Chen Zhenghao's group will come for us sooner or later. We all need to stick together."
Zhang Yi responded indifferently, "I'm doing just fine on my own right now."
Lin Caining chimed in, "That's not the point. You're just one person. Chen Zhenghao has five or six people with him, and they're armed! You're not safe, either."
Zhang Yi smirked. Why didn't they ask Chen Zhenghao who broke his leg in the first place?
Chen Zhenghao hadn't dared to seek revenge because he knew Zhang Yi wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Zhang Yi asked, "So, what do you all want to do?"
Fang Yuqing hurriedly replied, "It's too dangerous for everyone to be scattered around. We've decided to move in together so we can have a fighting chance against Chen Zhenghao."
Zhang Yi burst out laughing. "What, you think being in a group will suddenly make you immune to his guns?"
Ridiculous. If numbers truly made a difference, the entire building, with its fifty households and over a hundred people, could gang up on Chen Zhenghao and stomp him out with a single kick.
They were all cowards. Grouping together was just a psychological crutch.
Another person in the chat, Sun Zhichao, spoke up. Zhang Yi remembered he was a white-collar worker in finance.
"With more people, at least they'd hesitate to attack. We could even barricade the doors and prevent them from breaking in."
Fang Yuqing added, "Exactly! Zhang Yi, your place has a balcony and a sturdy security door, perfect for resisting Chen Zhenghao."
"So, we hope you can join our team, and together, we'll fight back against Chen Zhenghao!"
By now, Zhang Yi had pieced it all together.
Fang Yuqing must have told them that his apartment was ideal.
It was also likely that these people knew about Zhang Yi's perfect insulation system and his stockpile of food.
Zhang Yi sneered.
Their plans were so loud he could hear them from a dozen floors away!
Without a hint of politeness, Zhang Yi replied, "No thanks. I'm living comfortably on my own. If you want to bunk together, go find somewhere else."
What a joke—seven or eight people cramming into his place?
At this point, who could tell friend from foe? That would be inviting danger right into his home.
Besides, Zhang Yi didn't owe them anything. Why should he?
After Zhang Yi's refusal, the group was visibly displeased.
Sun Zhichao: "Zhang Yi, we're all in danger here. You can't be so shortsighted! Only by sticking together can we survive!"
Another member, Wang Min, added, "We only chose your place because it has a balcony and easy access to snow water. You think we're taking advantage of you, but we're actually protecting you!"
Zhang Yi laughed so hard his face twisted.
He sent a message to the group: "Protecting me????"
The series of question marks conveyed the full extent of his mockery.
Did they even know what kind of life he was living right now?
Protect him? They had the nerve to say that out loud!
Curled up in bed, Fang Yuqing bit her lip, then launched into an attack. She knew Zhang Yi didn't like her and wouldn't let her into his place.
That's why she was now using the group to guilt-trip him.
In her mind, human lives were at stake. Even though she, Lin Caining, Zhou Peng, and the others had wronged Zhang Yi in the past, he should still show some generosity.
Lin Caining: "Zhang Yi, fine, I'll admit we need your help. But think about it—if you let us into your home, you'll be saving seven or eight lives!
Can you really stand by and watch as Chen Zhenghao kills us? We've been friends and neighbors for years!"
Among the seven or eight people in the group, Zhang Yi knew most of them, and a few were even colleagues from work. They all spoke up, asking Zhang Yi to let them in for the sake of their past relationships.
But the Zhang Yi of today, who had been persecuted to death in his previous life, was no longer the kind-hearted man he once was.
Many of the people who had taken advantage of him back then were now in this group.
In the apocalypse, what was the use of talking about humanity?
Surviving was the only priority!
So he said, "At this point, survival is based on individual abilities. You offer no value to me, so why should I protect you?"
After sending this, Zhang Yi immediately left the group.
Dream on if they thought they could take advantage of him!
If he lacked morals, he couldn't be morally blackmailed.
After the conversation, Zhang Yi took out a box of chips from his dimensional storage.
He went to the window, sat down in his soft, imported lounge chair, and enjoyed the view while munching on his snack.
To be fair, the snow-covered landscape outside was beautiful, despite the extreme cold.
The ground was blanketed in white, without a single speck of color, creating a serene, picturesque scene.
Just then, he noticed a black dot swaying from the 18th floor across from him, followed by a desperate scream.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a person falling through the air.
Moments later, the body sank into a six- or seven-meter-deep snowdrift.
With temperatures dropping below minus seventy degrees outside, anyone buried in the snow was as good as dead.
It seemed that the situation in other units wasn't much different from his.
As supplies dwindled, violent struggles for resources had begun, and people were even killing each other.
Wherever people remained, hell was quickly unfolding.
Zhang Yi continued eating his chips, calculating his next moves in his mind.
It looked like he'd need to be wary not only of his neighbors but also of the survivors outside.
In the apocalypse, anything could happen.